Cook’s Third Voyage to the South Seas was undertaken in search of an assumed ‘northwest passage’ linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Once again two ex-Whitby colliers were involved, the Resolution under the command of Captain James Cook, and the Discovery, skippered by Lieutenant Charles Clerke. Following up from his Second Voyage experience, Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer William Bayly was again assigned to this voyage, and served on board the Discovery, while Cook and Second Lieutenant James King shared the astronomical responsibilities on the Resolution. This voyage only involved a single short stop-over in Queen Charlotte Sound, during which further astronomical observations were made for the calculation of latitude and longitude. These built on the very extensive series taken during the various Second Voyage stop-overs in the Sound. The final result, reported in this chapter, differs little from the currently-accepted values, and shows the level of precision these early astronomers were able to achieve with what today would be regarded as inferior instruments.
...MoreBook Wayne Orchiston (2016) Exploring the History of New Zealand Astronomy: Trials, Tribulations, Telescopes and Transits.
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